This blog post will be discussing principles of design, typography, color, and photography that I used to make this magazine spread mock-up. It will also describe the purpose of the magazine spread, and it’s intended audience. Design principles discussed will include repetition, alignment, and proximity, visual contrast, visual interest, and the importance of cohesiveness.

This magazine spread uses a two column layout, with multiple headings, and quotes from the article (called pull quotes), and the use of text wraps around images and pull quotes. It also contains consistent heading typeface and body copy typeface throughout the pages.

My targeted audience of the magazine spread are those who are having a faith crisis and feel like they’re just going through the motions (ie. dancing without music). The main message I wanted to communicate through the design is to bring a calm assurance that it is possible to be able to hear the music again. This design appeals to the target audience through a calming color palette, and poignant photographs that were used to convey the message of the article. The color palette is visually appealing to those seeking peace, answers, and reassurance.

Design Analysis

There were several main design decisions that were made once an article was chosen. The first decision was to choose a layout. This was done through multiple sketches as well as looking to other magazine articles with multiple pages for inspiration on how to bring visual interest and be cohesive. I chose to use a two column layout. I feel like it is easier to read the article in this format compared to using a three column layout. There is also consistent proximity and padding between the columns and images and quotes. The visual interest and contrast lend well to the reader to move their eyes throughout the pages in the magazine spread.

Color

The next design decision that I made was to choose a color palette. I specifically was looking for a color palette with a warm undertone, but peaceful, relaxing, calm colors. I am using the color palette called BeachGlass from Color Schemer. Repetition of the two dominant colors of green and blue can be found on every page. Other repeated elements include triangles in the corners of the pages, and typeface colors. This helps the cohesion. The pull quotes also use colored rectangles behind the quote to create both visual interest and visual contrast.

Typography

For the body copy text, I used an Oldstyle, or serif, typeface of Minion Pro. Because the body text was an Oldstyle typeface, the heading typeface chosen was a sans serif, Helvetica, for visual contrast. Another typeface, script, called Great Vibes was used on the pull quotes to create more visual contrast and help the quotes to stand out more. All of the magazine spread text is left aligned. Contrasting typefaces are beneficial to highlight and draw attention to important areas.

Photography

The first two photographs used the rule of thirds, in that they take up approximately 2/3 and 1/3 of the page. The second photograph uses depth of field and focuses on the man with the headphones. The third photograph was cropped to fit in a circle to help the depth of field by focusing on the person dancing/jumping in the air with joy.

The first photograph was chosen because a violin takes extreme focus to play, as well as requires a minimum amount of background noise to be able to hear it. The second photograph was chosen because the image I wanted to convey was literally and figuratively tuning out the background noise of life to be able to hear better. The last photograph was used because I felt it embodied the essence of the joy of being able to hear the music, and not simply going through the motions and dancing without music.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this blog post has discussed the design principles of visual contrast, and the use of color for visual interest. It has also discussed the value in contrasting typefaces. Repetition has been used through color, typography choices, alignment, proximity. This magazine spread utilizes a two column layout, with multiple headings, and pull quotes from the article, and the use of text wraps around images and pull quotes. It also contains consistent heading typeface and body copy typeface throughout the pages and creates a visually appealing and cohesive magazine spread.